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Autotrader.ca

Digital solutions for used-car dealers

Principal Data Scientist

Full-TimeUpdated on 10/23/2026
CA$180k - CA$220k+ Annual bonus + 3% pension match
Expert
Bachelor's
Toronto, ON, Canada
In Person
AI & Machine LearningApplied Machine Learning

About the job

Requirements
  • An advanced academic credential in a quantitative field such as Computer Science, Engineering, Mathematics, or a related discipline.
  • At least 10 years of experience in data science, machine learning, or applied AI, with a strong portfolio of high-impact production projects.
  • Expert-level programming skills in Python and SQL, and fluency with leading machine-learning and artificial-intelligence frameworks such as scikit-learn, TensorFlow, and PyTorch.
  • Direct experience with generative AI and large language model technologies, including Hugging Face, LangChain, OpenAI APIs, vector databases, and fine-tuning methods.
  • Deep knowledge of supervised and unsupervised machine-learning algorithms and deep learning, including model evaluation, explainability, and selection for business-critical use cases.
  • Strong hands-on experience with AWS cloud infrastructure, Docker containerization, and Jenkins and Airflow orchestration.
  • Proven MLOps capability, including continuous integration and delivery pipelines, model monitoring, versioning, and automated retraining.
  • Experience deploying and serving models through APIs such as Flask and FastAPI in real-time and batch-processing environments.
  • Ability to communicate and manage stakeholders, translating complex concepts into actionable insights for non-technical audiences.
  • Demonstrated success mentoring teams, guiding technical strategy, and advocating best practices in experimentation, reproducibility, and ethical AI.
  • Experience working in agile product development environments using Scrum or Kanban.
  • Experience leveraging AI and generative AI to enhance engineering productivity, automate repetitive tasks, and optimize workflows, including integrating AI-driven solutions into daily work such as code generation, debugging, reviews, documentation, and decision support.
Responsibilities
  • Shape the strategic direction and vision of Data Science across the organization by identifying transformative AI and machine-learning opportunities and championing the team's evolving role in the generative AI landscape.
  • Lead the design and deployment of predictive and generative AI models for personalization, pricing, search, and optimization in marketplace and fintech domains.
  • Collaborate with product leaders to align machine-learning initiatives with strategic business goals and drive product innovation through data-driven experimentation and modeling.
  • Architect scalable machine-learning infrastructure and automated workflows using cloud-native tools such as AWS, EC2, and Kubernetes to support model training, deployment, and analytics across diverse datasets.
  • Ensure long-term performance and compliance of production AI models through governance and monitoring.
  • Provide technical leadership and mentorship to data scientists, shaping an innovative team culture and fostering high performance and continuous learning.
  • Serve as a cross-functional technical leader, partnering with engineering, product, and platform teams to influence architecture, innovation agendas, and technical standards across the organization.
  • Act as a senior technical advisor, leading resolution of complex modeling issues and serving as the escalation point for critical incidents.
  • Lead exploration and strategic application of generative AI, identifying high-impact use cases and guiding integration across products and platforms.
Desired Qualifications
  • Experience influencing product roadmaps.
  • Experience in e-commerce, marketplaces, or high-scale consumer platforms.
  • Familiarity with automotive data and applications in pricing, inventory optimization, or recommendation systems.
  • Contributions to open-source AI and machine-learning projects, publications, or presentations at industry conferences.

About the company

Autotrader.ca provides a suite of digital tools for used-car dealers to grow online sales. The platform is subscription-based and combines marketplace listings, web solutions, inventory management, traffic analytics, and conversion tools; dealers upload inventory, publish listings, review analytics, and convert traffic into leads. Premium listings on autoTRADER.ca offer extra exposure, while the tools are designed to be simple to use and easy to measure. The goal is to help dealers attract more customers, manage inventory more efficiently, and increase sales in a competitive digital automotive market.

Company Size

1,001-5,000

Company Stage

Acquired

Total Funding

$2.3B

Headquarters

Toronto, Canada

Founded

1975

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Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • AutoCanada signed a national partnership on March 31, 2026.
  • AutoTrader reported stronger inquiry quality and engagement during its 2026 platform tests.
  • Greenhouse listed 28 openings on September 2, 2026, signaling active expansion.

What critics are saying

  • Q2 2026 used-vehicle sales fell 2.5%, pressuring dealer budgets.
  • Google AI Overviews and zero-click shopping weaken marketplace traffic by 2027.
  • Kijiji, Facebook Marketplace, and OEM sites compress AutoTrader's pricing power.

What makes Autotrader.ca unique

  • AutoTrader.ca remains Canada’s largest automotive marketplace as of March 2026.
  • Its March 2026 AI platform bundles DemandAI with dealer tools and simpler packages.
  • Its price index and editorial data give dealers proprietary market intelligence.

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Benefits

  • Employee and Family Assistance Program
  • Gym Membership
  • Wellness Program
  • Conference Attendance Budget
  • Professional Development Budget
  • 401(k) Company Match
  • Performance Bonus

Company News

SalesTech Star
Aug 12th, 2026
PhotoShelter appoints Jill Vandevoorde as Chief Executive Officer to lead company's next chapter of growth.

PhotoShelter appoints Jill Vandevoorde as Chief Executive Officer to lead company's next chapter of growth. Veteran product and technology leader joins the AI-powered digital asset management leader as demand for real-time visual content workflows accelerates; longtime CEO Andrew Fingerman remains with the company as an advisor. PhotoShelter, the leading digital asset management (DAM) and content distribution platform used by many of the world's top brands, including the NFL, MLB, Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Vegas Golden Knights, Texas A&M University, and University of Virginia, today announced the appointment of Jill (Hadfield) Vandevoorde as Chief Executive Officer. A veteran product and technology leader with two decades of experience scaling B2B software and marketplace businesses, Vandevoorde is uniquely positioned to lead PhotoShelter into its next chapter of growth. Jill Vandevoorde brings deep experience building visual-first products, applying AI, and turning data into differentiated customer experiences. Most recently, she served as President of Dealertrack Canada, the market leader in automotive lending technology, where she led the acquisition and integration of Collateral Management Solutions while overseeing both businesses. Previously, Jill was Chief Product Officer at Trader Corporation, the national leader in automotive marketplaces, and spent eight years in digital leadership roles at Bell, a major telecommunications provider. Vandevoorde joins at a time of strong momentum for PhotoShelter. In 2026 alone, the company has delivered several new capabilities to its platform - from AI-powered accessibility, a new live stream video workflow and video search to its modernized Lumen Portal and soon-to-launch AI assistant - expanding on its leadership in delivering tools that help teams move content from creation to distribution with less manual work. A customer-first operator known for turning ambition into measurable growth, she will focus as CEO on building on that momentum: keeping product innovation moving fast, growing the customer base, and making sure PhotoShelter stays the tool marketing teams love to use. "What excites me about PhotoShelter is where we sit in the workflow. We are the platform that helps brands, marketers, and creatives organize, manage, distribute, and collaborate on their content. That job only gets more important as teams are asked to produce and adapt more content, faster, across more channels," said Jill Vandevoorde, CEO of PhotoShelter. "My focus is simple: keep product and technology tightly aligned around real customer problems - because that's what lets us keep innovating in ways that actually move our customers' businesses forward." Vandevoorde succeeds Andrew Fingerman, who has served as CEO since 2012. Under his leadership, PhotoShelter grew into the market leader it is today, launching its enterprise DAM product for brands, expanding to nearly 2,000 enterprise customers, storing more than 20PB of data across 6.7B assets and extending its platform through the acquisitions of Third Light and Socialie. Fingerman will remain engaged with the company as an advisor. In announcing his new role, Fingerman said, "Leading PhotoShelter has been an absolute privilege, especially the opportunity to work alongside our team and with some of the world's most creative brands and independent visual storytellers. I look forward to supporting PhotoShelter's next stage of growth as an advisor. Jill is a proven leader who brings demonstrated product expertise, a passion for customers, and the vision to lead PhotoShelter forward." Vandevoorde holds a Bachelor of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from Queen's University and completed the Artificial Intelligence Business Programme at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. "Jill's B2B product instinct and customer focus made her the clear choice to lead PhotoShelter's next chapter," said Christopher Ryan, Managing Partner at Clearhaven Partners. "When we first partnered with PhotoShelter, we backed a differentiated platform whose customers had already validated its value, and that is truer than ever today. We are grateful for Andrew's leadership in building PhotoShelter into the definitive DAM leader for sports and education, and we are excited to invest alongside Jill in the company's continued growth and in delivering even more value to its customers."

PR Newswire
Mar 30th, 2026
PCMI appoints Nick Scissons as General Counsel to lead global legal strategy.

PCMI appoints Nick Scissons as General Counsel to lead global legal strategy. Mar 30, 2026, 09:00 ET Experienced legal leader joins to support scalable growth and enterprise operations PARK RIDGE, Ill., March 30, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ - PCMI, the leading provider of cloud-based administration software for F&I products and service contract programs, announced that Nick Scissons has joined the company as General Counsel. In this role, Nick will lead PCMI's global legal function and serve as a key advisor to the executive team, Board of Directors, and investors, overseeing legal strategy, governance, and risk management as the company continues to scale across complex automotive and warranty ecosystems. His leadership will strengthen PCMI's legal foundation to support disciplined, long-term growth. "Nick brings deep experience building legal functions in technology companies and a strong understanding of the complexity of our industry, which will be critical as we continue to scale," said Clyde Owen, Chief Executive Officer at PCMI. Nick joins PCMI from Trader Corporation, where he served as General Counsel, leading legal strategy across a portfolio that included Autotrader.ca, Dealertrack Canada, and Autosync. He built and scaled the legal function to support a high-growth, private equity environment, aligning governance, contracting, and compliance with evolving business needs. "In highly regulated markets, legal plays a critical role in enabling disciplined growth," said Nick Scissons, General Counsel at PCMI. "As F&I and service contract programs continue to expand across the industry, this is an opportunity to strengthen legal capabilities that support scale, manage regulatory complexity, and meet the evolving expectations of customers and partners." About PCMI Founded in 2012, PCMI is a global SaaS company delivering cloud-based administration software for the automotive Finance & Insurance (F&I) industry. Its PCRS platform unifies contract and claims administration into a single, modern system, supporting more than 125 customers, 440,000 users, and over 135 million contracts processed worldwide. With 275+ team members, PCMI enables administrators, dealers, OEMs, and lenders to operate more efficiently and scale with confidence. Media Contact Laura Scahill, PCMI, 1 (847) 653-6916, [email protected], https://www.pcmicorp.com/ SOURCE PCMI

AIM Group
Dec 12th, 2024
AutoScout24 completes acquisition of Canada-based Trader Corp. - AIM Group

Germany-based auto marketplace AutoScout24 has completed its acquisition of Canada-based Trader Corporation from private equity firm Thoma Bravo.

CPE Media Inc.
Aug 19th, 2024
AutoScout24 to acquire TRADER Corporation from Thoma Bravo

In September 2016, Thoma Bravo acquired TRADER Corporation from funds advised by Apax Partners for approximately CDN $1.575 billion.

Newswire
Aug 16th, 2024
AutoScout24 Acquires TRADER Corporation

AutoScout24, a leading pan-European online automotive marketplace, has signed an agreement to acquire TRADER Corporation from Thoma Bravo. Existing majority shareholder Hellman & Friedman will make an additional equity investment in AutoScout24. This acquisition extends AutoScout24's presence outside Europe and enhances its service offerings in automotive dealer software and lender solutions. TRADER Canada operates AutoTrader.ca and AutoHebdo.net, with 26 million monthly visits and 5,000 dealer partners.